Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers joined with Merlin CEO Charles Caldas in touting a “benchmark” licensing deal that he says gives the 20,000 independent labels represented by Merlin the same royalty rate as those granted to major labels. Caldas praised Beats for “being vocal about the value of independent music.” Caldas has walked away from other licensing deals, most notably Myspace, when he believed the terms he was getting weren’t exactly the same as those given to majors. But there is industry debate whether the Merlin/Beats deal has the same value in real terms as the majors’ deals. It’s difficult to tell when deal terms are confidential. Even though royalty rates may be exactly the same for all labels, there are often other elements of a licensing deal, like equity in the streaming company, a guaranteed monthly minimum royalty payment and upfront payments.
